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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24686068">Richard Thompson Learns About Rangers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarishashernoseinabook/pseuds/solarishashernoseinabook'>solarishashernoseinabook</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dad!Halt, Fluff, Ordinary people are superstitious of rangers, Superstition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:48:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24686068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarishashernoseinabook/pseuds/solarishashernoseinabook</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the following promt from gerbilfriend:<br/>Halt and Will during apprentice ship. Outside POV of their relationship would be a lot of fun, anything h/c after Skandia would be great too </p><p>Hope you like it :"D</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Halt O'Carrick &amp; Will Treaty</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Ranger's Apprentice Summer Fluff 5K</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Richard Thompson Learns About Rangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gerbilfriend/gifts">Gerbilfriend</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>       Richard had been at the inn for three days when the rangers arrived. <br/> <br/>       Like most people, Richard was wary of rangers. His father had spent his life telling anyone who would listen that a ranger had once appeared out of thin air in the middle of a barren field, only to disappear just as quickly. Richard had always believed it. He didn’t quite think they were devils – only superstitious folk thought that – but he did think there was something very odd about them. </p><p>       This pair were a master and apprentice, the former with a beard that looked like it had been trimmed with a large knife, the latter with a shock of brown hair and quick eyes that darted about the inn. The pair took a seat in the corner and the innkeeper set down stew, bread and water in front of them. The boy dug in ravenously – Richard pinned him at fifteen or sixteen, same as his own lad, and at that age boys could eat more than grown men twice their size. His master ate with more dignity. </p><p>       Richard drained his ale and went over. He cleared his throat. ‘Erm. Ah. Hello.’ </p><p>       The rangers looked up at him. </p><p>       ‘I, ah, need an escort through these lands. To Redmont. If you’re going that way?’ Not as elegant as he would have liked, but it was Richard’s first time actually speaking to a ranger and he was getting a bit tongue-tied. </p><p>       ‘Oh, yeah, we’re going there,’ the apprentice said. He spoke with what sounded like a Skandian accent on certain words, and for a moment Richard wondered if the boy was Skandian, but he dismissed that idea after a moment – everyone knew Skandians had horns growing out of their heads, and this boy clearly didn’t. </p><p>       ‘But first,’ the master said, with a Hibernian accent that was faded but still noticeable, ‘why do you need a pair of rangers to escort you?’ </p><p>       ‘Well, it’s like this, see. I grew up in Gorlan Fief. Not that I support Morgorath,’ he said quickly, ‘on my honour, I’m the king’s man through and through and hang Morgarath, wherever he may be. But there’s been this rumour sprung up lately, see, people saying Morgarath had some great treasure, and some people are attacking people from Gorlan in hopes of getting it. They’re in the woods nearby, and I just need an escort through those and then I can get home on my own.’ </p><p>       The master nodded. ‘Fair enough. We’re going that way anyway. We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon. Meet us at the edge of the woods.’ </p><p>       Richard smiled. ‘Thank you! Richard Thompson, merchant.’ </p><p>       ‘Halt, and this is Will,’ the ranger said. </p><p>       ‘Halt? But he’s supposed to be a giant, and you’re—’ he wiped the grin off his face when he saw the ranger’s expression. ‘Er. But if you call yourself Halt, that’s good enough for me.’ </p><p>       The apprentice, Will, snickered and stuffed bread in his mouth to cover it. The ranger shot a hard stare at him, but his expression quickly softened. Richard slid out of his seat and went up to his room. He would have all morning to pack and likely wouldn’t need it, but he didn’t want to keep the rangers waiting. </p><hr/><p>       Richard’s friend always went on about his grandfather, who had asked a ranger for help when his cows kept dying mysteriously. He said the ranger had shown up, took his bow and shot an arrow at one of the cows, but it passed through without harming it and embedded in the wall of the barn behind it; when the grandfather went to check, the arrow had pinned to the wall a fly that had been biting his cows, and they stopped dying after that. </p><p>       Seeing Will now, Richard believed it more than he ever had. The boy was using a recurve bow maybe half the size of the longbow carried by Halt – if that was the ranger’s name. Makeshift targets had been set up on three trees, and Will had been firing at them – apparently for a while, because the arrows were tightly clustered in the centre of each target, but he was also apparently frustrated, because as Richard watched he aimed his arrow at a flower and fired at it, shooting one of the petals off. At that point he put down his bow and Richard approached slowly. </p><p>       He stopped again very quickly. Halt had reached Will first and put a hand on his shoulder. From this distance, Richard could hear their conversation. </p><p>       ‘That was good, considering you’ve been out of practice for a year,’ Halt said. </p><p>       ‘“Good”? But I was slow. If something happens and I’m not fast enough—’ </p><p>       ‘Then I’ll be there.’ Halt patted his shoulder. ‘You’re still faster than you were when you started out.’ </p><p>       Will looked at him with a pleading expression. ‘What if I’m not allowed—’ </p><p>       This must have been a worry he’d expressed before, because Halt cut him off. ‘You’ll be a ranger. Crowley knows your situation. You’ll be fine.’ </p><p>       Richard sensed there was more to the story that he wasn’t privy to, but at that point Will noticed him and Halt noticed him a moment later. ‘Will, get your arrows, we’re leaving soon,’ he said. </p><p>       Will went to the trees as Halt went to a pair of shaggy horses grazing nearby. The boy was gripping the arrows and yanking them out of the tree with perhaps more force than was necessary. He put them in his quiver and went to the white pony. Richard went to where his horse was waiting and stroked his nose. His son got in moods like Will’s sometimes, and he wished he could do something to help, but without knowing Will he didn’t want to try and risk making things worse. </p><hr/><p>       Richard hadn’t meant to keep an eye on the boy, but he found himself doing it without meaning to, and watching his interactions with the so-called Halt. He seemed to bounce back quickly, such that by the time they stopped that evening Will was looking around with the same bright, intelligent eyes Richard had noticed in the inn. He was also peppering his master with questions, asking three or four at a time before the man had a chance to answer any of them. Richard tried to hide his smile. </p><p>       Will was also, Richard noticed, rather thin, and his eyelids were drooping very soon after they finished eating dinner. That was another thing about teenage boys, Richard knew: all they seemed to want to do was eat and sleep. ‘Go sleep,’ Halt said gruffly. ‘I’ll take first watch tonight.’ </p><p>       Will nodded and crawled into his tent. Halt poured himself a coffee and offered a cup to Richard, but he shook his head. ‘I should be getting to sleep myself, soon,’ he said. </p><p>       Halt nodded. He spooned what seemed to Richard to be an unusually large amount of honey into his coffee and stirred it slowly. </p><p>       ‘They’re funny at that age, ain’t they,’ Richard said after a bit, to break the silence. Halt looked at him in apparent confusion and he nodded towards Will’s tent. ‘Boys. Mine, I can’t get him to do anything really. Just wants to eat and sleep and be with his friends.’ </p><p>       ‘Hm.’ Halt sipped his coffee slowly. </p><p>       ‘Not saying yours is irresponsible, of course,’ Richard said hurriedly. ‘Seems like a very fine boy, very fine. No offence meant, good ranger.’ </p><p>       ‘None taken. Will likes spending time with his friends, too.’ </p><p>       ‘Has, um. Has something happened to him recently?’ Richard asked, fiddling with a blade of grass. </p><p>       Halt took another slow sip of coffee before answering, like he was considering what he would say. ‘Some…trouble. In Skandia.’ </p><p>       ‘Damn raiders.’ Richard spat into the fire. ‘Lost a lot of cargo to them over the years.’ </p><p>       ‘Actually, Will negotiated a treaty with them. They’ll be trading with us from now on,’ Halt said, a touch of pride in his voice. </p><p>       Richard could only stare dumbfounded. ‘<em>Him</em>? A <em>treaty</em>? With <em>Skandians</em>?!’ </p><p>       Halt settled into shadows, but not before Richard saw a smile curl around his lips. ‘Yes. And helped stop an invasion.’ </p><p>       ‘But that’s amazing!’ Richard said. ‘Why does he doubt himself?’ </p><p>       Halt was still in shadow, but there was a definite change to how he was sitting now and there was a note of sadness in his voice. ‘It was a hard time in Skandia. He’s got a lot he has to deal with.’ </p><p>       Silence fell between them, and after a long time Richard broke it. ‘You want some advice on how to help him? One father to another?’ </p><p>       There was a long pause before Halt said, ‘Go ahead.’ </p><p>       ‘Boys won’t talk to their family about serious things much, but they’ll talk to their friends. People their age, you know. When you get him back home, let him take some time off training every day so he can devote time to that. He’ll be okay. He’s the type that bounces back, looks like.’ </p><p>       Halt nodded slowly. ‘That he is.’ </p><p>       Richard stood, suddenly feeling awkward. ‘Anyway, ah, it’s getting on for time.’ </p><p>       ‘Yes,’ Halt said, draining his coffee. ‘We’ll leave early tomorrow morning.’ </p><p>       ‘Good to know, good to know,’ Richard said, nodding. ‘Well, good night.’ He went into his tent hoping he hadn’t crossed a boundary. </p><hr/><p>       Will was riding ahead of Richard, and Halt was bringing up the rear. To Richard nothing was out of the ordinary, but that afternoon he noticed Will looking around more. After maybe an hour of riding Will turned his horse and trotted back to Halt, and they exchanged a few words in hushed tones; then Will rode forward until he was past Richard, then dismounted and went off without bothering to secure his horse, and Halt rode up to talk to him. ‘Stay here.’ </p><p>       Richard decided not to argue. Halt dismounted and, like Will, left his horse with the reins drooping to the ground, and the rangers approached the trees. Will looked back at Halt, and Halt nodded at him. He murmured something under his breath, which Richard could only make out due to his proximity to him. ‘<em>A bheith go maith, mo mhac</em>.’ </p><p>       Richard’s wife had a cousin, and this cousin had a friend who lived near a major route used by rangers on their way to their annual gathering. The friend would say rangers spoke in a mystical language that commanded shadows to bend around them. Richard had been on the fence about that for years, but now he believed it. As Halt spoke those words, he and Will stepped into the trees and seemed to disappear. Richard had been watching them the whole time, but after only a few seconds he would not have been able to say where either ranger was. </p><p>       They appeared to be gone for a very long time, and Richard was starting to wonder if he should call out to them when the rangers seemed to pop out of the ground farther up the trail and Richard nearly fell out of his saddle. As he righted himself, he saw Halt put his hand on Will’s shoulder. ‘You did good back there.’ He smiled at Will, and Will beamed in return. </p><p>       ‘Er, is the danger past, then?’ Richard said. </p><p>       ‘Yes,’ Halt said. ‘We were being followed by a group, probably after that fabled treasure of yours. We sent them off without major casualties.’ </p><p>       ‘Major casualties?’ Richard looked surprised. ‘You didn’t have to fight all that much?’ </p><p>       ‘Not really.’ Will grinned. ‘They scared themselves after one of them nearly tripped over—’ </p><p>       ‘Watch it, you,’ Halt growled, going back to his horse. Will leaned in to mutter to Richard, ‘One of them nearly tripped over Halt while we were watching them.’ </p><p>       Richard was very glad that Halt, riding behind him, wouldn’t be able to see his face. </p><hr/><p>       The next afternoon they left the forest behind. As they were still going in the same direction, they rode on for a few hours before Richard reined in and cleared his throat. ‘Well, uh, I go off this way.’ </p><p>       The rangers stopped as well. ‘You’re gonna be fine from here, right?’ Will said. </p><p>       ‘Oh yeah, no trouble, never you worry,’ Richard said. </p><p>       ‘You’re the first village to the west, then?’ Halt said, and when Richard nodded he went on. ‘I’ll be filing a report about this. You might be contacted for more information before a formal investigation is opened.’ </p><p>       ‘Thank you very much, Ranger.’ Richard bowed his head slightly. ‘And, er, come by any time. We owe you dinner at least, for what you did.’ </p><p>       Halt nodded. ‘We might take you up on that.’ </p><p>       Richard looked to Halt, feeling slightly awkward once more. ‘It’s nice your son wants to work with you. Mine, he’s got dreams of going off and being a knight. Couldn’t care less ‘bout my line of work.’ </p><p>       Will turned to look at Halt, who nodded slowly. ‘It’s very nice, yes.’ </p><p>       For some reason, Will beamed. Then the rangers turned their horses and went off. </p><p>       Richard’s uncle’s cousin’s first wife had once said the ranger’s cloaks kept them from being seen by breaking up their outline. Richard thought this was ridiculous. Even now, the outlines of the rangers were shimmering and indistinct. No piece of cloth could do that. Besides, he’d heard the magic words they used to hide themselves. </p><p>       ‘A bleth go maith, mommac,’ he said. Nothing seemed to change. Perhaps he hadn’t said the words right. </p><p>       ‘Ah well,’ he muttered. ‘No good messing about with ranger magic. You never know what might happen.’ </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>According to Google Translate, "a bheith go maith, mo mhac" means "be well, my son". If the translation is terribly off, let me know and I'll edit to correct it ^-^</p></blockquote></div></div>
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